Fred McGrath was born on May 31, 1894, in Easton, Massachusetts to Charles McGrath and Mabel Smith, both of Maine. He later lived at 18 Water Street in Brockton, Massachusetts, where he worked as a laborer. He had dark chestnut hair and blue eyes, was 5'10", and was a Protestant.
Mr. McGrath was incarcerated in the Massachusetts Reformatory on May 31, 1917. While incarcerated, he contracted pneumonia from the 1918 influenza epidemic. He died of his illness on October 14, 1918, at 24.
